The Touch Advantage: How Folding Cartons Create Emotional Brand Connections
Blog
Sappi's “The Touch Advantage” Research Study
Introduction
In an age dominated by digital marketing and virtual shopping, tactile experiences still hold immense power. Sappi North America, in partnership with Clemson University, recently released a groundbreaking study titled “The Touch Advantage”, revealing how sensory packaging — especially touch — can substantially influence consumer behavior.
As leaders in folding carton design and production, Diamond Packaging is uniquely positioned to bring these insights to life for your brand.
Below are four key takeaways from the study, and how Diamond helps brands leverage them through elevated folding carton design.
The Foundation: Sight Before Touch
Touch doesn't happen in a vacuum. Before a consumer reaches for a package, visual heuristics — the brain's instant judgments based on what the eye sees — determine whether a product even gets considered. Foil catches light. Embossing casts shadow. Soft-touch coating signals restraint and refinement. These aren't just aesthetic choices; they are subconscious cues that tell the shopper: this is worth picking up. The study's own eye-tracking data reinforces this: seeing starts the sale, and touching closes it. Great folding carton design has to do both.
1. Touch Drives Purchase Decisions
Key Insight: Just two touches of a premium package make a consumer 50% more likely to buy, increasing to 90% after four touches.
What This Means for Folding Cartons:
- Tactile finishes like soft-touch coating, embossing, and cold foil or hot foil stamping invite exploration and interaction.
- Thoughtful textures can be used as strategic “touchpoints”, e.g., grooves along the opening or raised logos, to encourage repeated contact.
Diamond’s Edge: We collaborate with clients to engineer carton surfaces that invite touch, qualitatively distinguishing products on the shelf and boosting conversion.
GUESS Iconic for Men packaging invites repeated touches through multi-level embossing, detailed stitching, and soft-touch matte coating contrasted against high-gloss finishes.
2. Unboxing Enhances Satisfaction
Key Insight: If a package fails to align with the expectations shaped by advertising, reviews, and other key touchpoints, the brand risks undermining its credibility and reputation. Premium packaging triggers 95% more positive emotions during unboxing compared to non-premium options.
Implications for E-Commerce & Retail Launches:
- A memorable unboxing moment leads to emotional gratification, inspires social sharing, and enhances brand loyalty.
- Folding carton designs with lined textures, unique closures, or dual-layer finishes deepen this emotional impact.
Diamond’s Contribution: Let’s design packaging that feels like an experience — curated tactile zones, hidden textures, and sensory layers surprise and delight at first touch.
StriVectin's packaging exemplifies this premium unboxing experience with soft-touch coating and subtle embossing accents.
3. Premium Packaging Wins
Key Insight: In side-by-side comparisons, consumers consistently favor premium packaging features—like gloss coating, foil, or embossing — choosing them 3 to 13 times more often, depending on the product category. Notably, nearly 60% of participants opted for packaging with foil embellishment when given the choice.
The Opportunity for Folding Cartons:
- Stand out within crowded retail environments by using elevated finishes and high-quality substrates.
- Subtle features — like soft-touch or spot gloss coating — can turn a standard carton into a statement piece.
Diamond’s Capability: We offer a range of embellishments (spot UV, soft-touch coating, reticulated coating, MotionCoat®, cold foil, hot foil stamping, and embossing) on durable SBS and mixed source carton stocks to help your brand shine.
Billie Eilish #3 packaging exudes a premium aesthetic through UV matte and UV satin spot coatings over Envirofoil®, elevated by multi-level embossing.
4. Research-Backed Sensory Strategy
Study Credibility:
- Conducted in both retail and home settings, using biometrics, eye-tracking, and consumer testing.
- The findings aren’t just theoretical — they deliver real-world ROI by linking touch and emotions directly to purchase behavior and satisfaction.
How Diamond Uses This:
- We guide brands through a sensory-first packaging audit based on these principles.
- We craft prototypes and usage scenarios to validate which tactile features best align with your audience and product position.
As your trusted partner, Diamond offers:
| Expertise | How It Aligns with “The Touch Advantage” |
|---|---|
| Advanced Finishes | Soft-touch and specialty coatings, foil, and embossing — all proven to boost touch engagement. |
| Consumer-Centric Design | Packaging developed to invite at least four meaningful touches. |
| Unboxing Strategy | Multi-sensory approaches that turn routine openings into moments of delight. |
| Performance-Driven Testing | Consumer feedback tools used to validate emotional impact and sales outcomes. |
| Emotional Branding | Packaging designed to create lasting emotional connections with consumers. |
Together, these capabilities demonstrate how folding cartons can transform passive packaging into an active brand experience.
Turning Insight into Impact
The findings from "The Touch Advantage" study reinforce a powerful truth: packaging is no longer just a container, it is a critical moment of connection between brand and consumer.
Folding cartons, when thoughtfully designed, can:
- Capture attention at the shelf
- Encourage interaction through tactile elements
- Create memorable unboxing experiences
- Reinforce brand quality and value
In a crowded retail environment, these moments are not optional, they are essential to influencing purchase decisions and building long-term loyalty.
Why It Matters for Your Brand
Consumers are increasingly drawn to brands that deliver meaningful, sensory experiences. Packaging plays a central role in shaping those perceptions, often within seconds.
By incorporating tactile design elements such as embossing, specialty coatings, and foil, brands can:
- Increase perceived value
- Strengthen emotional engagement
- Differentiate from competitors
- Drive measurable sales lift
The opportunity is clear: design packaging not just to be seen, but to be felt.
Partner with Diamond Packaging
From award-winning design, advanced decorative capabilities, to consumer insight, we help brands bring these experiences to life.
Whether you're looking to elevate shelf presence, enhance unboxing, or validate performance through testing, our team can help you translate “The Touch Advantage” into real-world results.
Ready to create packaging that connects? Request a free folding carton sample kit to experience firsthand how premium finishes and thoughtful design can elevate your brand.
Reference:
“The Touch Advantage” by Sappi North America & Clemson University, 2025.
Request a Copy
“The Touch Advantage’ represents the culmination of years of research and innovation at Sappi North America,” said Patti Groh, Director of Communications at Sappi North America. “This book not only showcases the power of touch in consumer decision-making but also positions Sappi as a leader in advancing the science of sensory marketing. We believe ‘The Touch Advantage’ will be a game-changer for brands looking to deepen their connection with consumers through thoughtfully designed, premium packaging.”
Contact us for a copy of the book (while supplies last) or request a PDF version.
